Celebrate Diversity
Celebrate and learn about humanity's beautiful differences.
In this increasingly interconnected world, learning openness and appreciating differences is important to many aspects of modern life. And it’s becoming critical to raising happy and successful children, too. Be watchful and take every opportunity to focus children's attention on what is similar between themselves and others, over what is different. Present the differences as interesting rather than scary.
Celebrate and learn about diversity while constantly observing our universal qualities. Here are some helpful strategies:
Read widely: Read children’s books with characters from other cultures and talk to your kids about what they see.
Watch actively: If your child watches television, sit with them and point out any stereotypes you observe.
Celebrate differences: Go to local ethnic festivals and introduce your child to friends who represent a variety of lifestyles, cultures and religions.
Correct missteps: Intervene if you ever hear your child makes remarks that are racist, homophobic, sexist or mean. Don’t get angry, but don’t let your child make the excuse that he or she was “just kidding,” either.
Model inclusion: Make your home reflect cultural diversity by the art, music and books you display; the movies and television shows you watch; and the restaurants your family patronizes.
These activities will get your child in the habit of treating all humans with respect and kindness.
